According to a recent IN article:
"'Last year I was really upset watching worlds,' she said. 'I was in Canada with Lori [Nichol], and it made me feel really upset that I wasn't there. But this year, it didn't really bother me. Last year it would have really brought me down, but this year, it's motivation for me to do better next year.
'I think the past couple of years, I've just put all of myself into skating, and this year I'd like to try to balance everything,' she said. 'Skating will always be my No. 1 priority, but it's nice for me to have something else to think about. It does upset me that I'm not at worlds, and it does upset me that I didn't do as well as I could have at nationals, but it's something to motivate me for next year.'
To bring some balance to her life, Nagasu has gone back to school, at Pasadena Community College.
'I'm taking art classes, which is a lot of fun,' she said. 'And I just got my driver's license, so I'm driving to school by myself.'"
...
"For the moment, Nagasu has been training in a local rink by herself, in addition to spending three hours a day in school.
'I haven't been traveling to Palm Springs because I'm not training my programs,' she said, 'So I'm skating at my local rink and just enjoying myself. Being in the real world makes me see how much I love the skating world. It's nice to have a balance of school and skating. I can appreciate how much work goes into both.'"
looks like we'll see an improved Mirai next year! :yay:
Please rewrite your letter to Bill Gates before mailing. Yuka and Jason are going through a rough patch (see the results of Alissa, Adam, and Jeremy at Worlds).Dear Mr. Bill Gates. Sir, you have lots of money....wouldnt you like to see Mirai get coached by Jason and Yuka for awhile and see what happens?
Please send a tax deductable contribution to Mirai Nagasu so she can go see Jason and Yuka for awhile.....
I would be grateful....and I will even let you sit by me at the next worlds....
Ye Ole Coyote in the dry part of WA state
I'm sure that these are competent coaches,but who is in charge? Mirai will be in a perfect position to play each one. With the number of high level coaches in the area I wonder if Mirai's reputation played a part in hercoaching change.I sense diplomacy in Frank Carrol's statement,but I was waiting for the announcement to come after World's,and I think the push came from him. Rafael Artunian,Tammy Gambill,Ilia Kulik,Peter Opegaard,John Nicks all teach in the area. At Mirai's level why leave Frank Carroll and not try for a high level coach with the experience and push to take her to the highest levels. Maybe her reputation is such that nobody wants to take her and her work habits on. Pity.
Maybe this is just temporary situation and she'll go to renowned coach(es) like Arutunian,Gamibil or someone else. JMO.
Anyway, I wish her the best of luck
oh,my 1st post [
i'm no mind reader, but perhaps when mirai says 'real' world she means a world outside of the skating rink, perhaps a place where her spontaneity is appreciated instead of seen as deviation from the norm? of course the 'real' world of a part-time college student taking an art class while her parents subsidize her very expensive training is different from that of an adult who works full time to support herself.
i don't know if this change will help her skating, but i'm glad she's moved on from the stalemate, go nowhere position. frank sounds gracious, and it appears they've parted on good terms.
her vids from ice chips,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA1UO90zSA0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0FtxDtNbes
to my eyes at least, show a skater who's fully committed to performing for the audience, enjoying her skating once again.
Artunian is still kind of far for her as a main coach, isn't he? Isn't that what everyone suggested she get away from? (I mean the long commute).
Would you please summarize that evidence? Thanks.Artunian is a taskmaster. He has little patience for skaters unless they're workers. The strong evidence is that Nagasu is not a worker.
Artunian is a taskmaster. He has little patience for skaters unless they're workers. The strong evidence is that Nagasu is not a worker.
Would you please summarize that evidence? Thanks.
Yes, I think all these signs taken together might mean that she is done competing and looks forward to skating in shows and entertainments.
Any links?
Not trying to be in your face, but I honestly don't recall any specifics and don't believe in judging someone based on undocumented assertions. "Good Mirai bad Mirai" could mean anything. I do remember reading that about Mao and Arutunian.
Nagasu's case is the most perplexing.
Her coach, Frank Carroll, told me Sunday he was infuriated by the way Nagasu appeared to give up at the end of her program and her posture as she waited on the ice for the scores of the previous skater. He felt she was all but mooning the audience (without exposing any flesh, of course) by bending over repeatedly in the middle of the rink to tie her skates.
Her technical marks were only ninth best in the field.
``She needs an awakening,'' Carroll said. ``Maybe this is the slap that will do it.''
Nagasu's career, like Czisny's, has been a bit of a roller-coaster.
She won nationals as a 14-year-old in 2008, dropped to 5th in an injury-plagued 2009, came back to finish second (and be the best U.S. skater in Olympics and worlds) in 2010, then missed the world team after finishing third Saturday.
That Nagasu was off the ice with a stress fracture for two months last summer affected her preparation. But Carroll, who coached Evan Lysacek to the 2010 Olympic gold, said the time off also should have given her needed rest after a whirlwind 2010 season.
``She had such a great season it was hard to get her juices going again,'' Carroll said. ``And not having Evan in the rink beside her every day to kick her butt and tell her when she was ridiculous also was a factor.
``She has been a bit all over the place. Sometimes I don't understand where she is coming from. I feel she trained better than what I got (Saturday), but she didn't get her act together until about three weeks ago. That's not really long enough.''
did i imply she has decided to quit competing to focus solely on shows? if so, that wasn't my intention. i was actually addressing the point some observers have made that mirai was (in their eyes) an emotional zombie just going through the motions during her competitive programs at nationals.
i meant to say that at least at ice chips, she's in the moment and enjoying herself and definitely giving the audience their money's worth. i see that as a sign that the spark is still there, and there's hope we'll see olympics-mirai again.